This invention relates to wheelchairs, and particularly to an amputee leg support installable on a wheelchair to support the amputated leg of a disabled person seated in the wheelchair. The amputee leg support is constructed so that it can have two different adjusted positions on the wheelchair, according to the position most comfortable for the user.
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,074, issued on Apr. 26, 1994, discloses a wheelchair having a seat equipped with a support for supporting the leg of a person whose leg has been amputated at or below the knee. The leg support provides a resting surface for the amputated leg, i.e. the upper portion of the leg remaining after the amputation operation.
The apparatus disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No., 5,306,074 includes a leg support hinged to the front edge of the wheelchair seat, whereby the leg support can be manually swung between a raised position extending horizontally in front of the seat and a lowered position extending vertically downwardly from the seat. The leg support typically has a length of about eleven inches, so that when the leg support is in its raised horizontal position it presents an obstacle to a person getting in or out of the wheelchair. By moving the leg support to its lowered position the leg support represents less of an obstacle; the person can get in or out of the wheelchair without difficulty.
The present invention relates to an improvement to the wheelchair attachment disclosed in the above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,074. In the present invention, the leg support is constructed and mounted so that it can be swung to a raised horizontal position, a lowered vertical position extending downwardly from the front edge of the wheelchair seat, or an intermediate position acutely angled to the seat.
The intermediate position of the leg support gives the user an alternate position that might prove more comfortable to certain persons than the horizontal prone position disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,074. At the same time, the present invention retains the horizontal prone position that provides a desired comfort level for many users. In either the horizontal prone position or the acutely angled position, the leg support provides a support surface for the thigh area and rear surface of the leg remaining after an amputation. The support action increases the comfort level of the user, and also tends to prevent the user's amputated leg from curling toward the thigh due to contraction of the leg muscles as a result of prolonged sitting in a wheelchair without adequate leg support.
In the preferred practice of the invention an adjustment is provided for allowing the user to vary the angle of the leg support in the intermediate position. Typically the declination angle of the support leg can vary from about twenty degrees to about fifty degrees, depending on the adjustment setting.
A swingable latch plate (or support plate) is used on the seat member to co-act with an adjustable abutment member on the leg support to hold it in its intermediate position angled downwardly from the seat member. Adjustment of the abutment member adjusts the angle of the leg support.
Specific features of the invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.